I don’t like Jamaica, says deportee

Romeo Reid is in no mood to celebrate Jamaica's 58th anniversary of Independence tomorrow. This aspiring deejay feels that Jamaica does not provide him enough opportunity to realise his dreams.

"I don't like Jamaica. It's an oppressive state and it suppress and depress the people. The worst thing that ever happened to Jamaica was to gain independence, it would be better to be governed by the Queen," said Reid, who was deported in 2004.

Originally from Westmoreland, Reid denies wrongdoing but says "people instigate my deportation." But he said he wished the plane had crashed in the ocean.

"I hate Jamaica and people always ask 'Why you hate Jamaica and you born here?' Everyone have a different view of seeing things and sometimes I feel like I'm locked up in a cage that's caving in and I can't get out while in Jamaica," he said.

He explained that life in England was not as hard as it is in Jamaica. "You know when I'm in England, I never had a sad face even when I was bruk cause I know there was a house for me. And even if I'm not working, tomorrow, I will get a job. Look at it, now.

Better tomorrow

I'm back here in Jamaica and I was born in Jamaica, and I can't even get half a job," he said. Reid says persons living in Jamaica are always searching for a better tomorrow, but all he can see is sorrow and destruction.

"Look around me, is poverty and zinc fence. When I was away, those were the best days of my lives. I cherish the days I was in England," Reid said.

His hatred for Jamaica grows stronger because he thinks there is no appreciation for the country's greatest resource, the people.

"The lifestyle of the people living in the ghetto, can you see their surroundings? It's a shame," he said.

He believes that for Jamaica to become a better country, there should be a complete eradication of crime, a better management of resources, and creation of more jobs.

"The same way how you have the Chinese fixing roads, you must can tear down the shanty towns and zinc fence and give it a facelift," he said.

He finds a way to cheer his spirits by making his music. He goes by the name Turnasaw, inspired by the late singjay Tenor Saw. His songs are still unreleased but he is hoping for the day he is able to leave Jamaica again and create a better life.

"I'd love to wake up one day and know that I'm not in Jamaica. I want to see it freezing cold and have a white Christmas. I'll smile my way out," he said.